1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to crop harvesting equipment and, more particularly, is concerned with a crop stalk guide assembly for attachment to a cutterbar of a crop harvesting machine header.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Crop harvesting machines, such as combines, are commonly used to gather and harvest grain-bearing stalk crops as the machine is moved across the field. In the case of short stalk row crops, such as soybeans and milo, the crop harvesting machine gathers the crop by cutting the stalks close to the ground and feeding the severed grain-bearing stalks into the machine. The machine harvests the grain from the stalks by first threshing the severed stalks and finally separating the grain from the threshed stalks.
Crop harvesting machines typically utilize crop headers mounted transversely across their forward ends to cut and gather a wide swath of the crop upon each pass through the field. The crop gathering headers commonly employ cutterbars extending transversely to the path of movement of the machine through the field and positioned close to the ground for severing the crop stalks close to the ground.
Crop gathering headers also usually employ devices for guiding the crop stalks into the cutterbars. The particular guide device employed depends on what crop is being harvested. For short stalk row crops, such as milo, one type of stalk guide device which has used heretofore is constructed of a number of rod-like fingers which attach to the cutterbar and extend forwardly on opposite sides of the stalk rows. At their forward ends, the fingers, in turn, mount springy tines which extend rearwardly on opposite sides of the stalk rows.
Problems have been encountered with this type of stalk guide device that impede the overall efficiency of harvesting operations. First, under certain tangled crop conditions, the tines can break off and be pulled into the cutterbar causing damage which requires temporary shutdown of the harvesting machine until repairs are made. Second, weeds intermingled with the crop stalks tend to catch on and plug the guide fingers, eventually impeding the smooth flow of the crop stalks to the cutterbar and requiring temporary suspension of the harvesting operation until the plugged weeds are cleaned out.
Consequently, a need exists for improvement of the design of devices used for assisting in guiding crop stalks into the cutterbar of a crop harvesting machine gathering header.